In Rightful Place (Luke 1:26-33 Jeff Kliewer)

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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org In Rightful Place

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I want to say good morning, and it's awesome to be here. We have, this is one of those times of the year that is just uplifting, it's special.
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Pastor Jeff is going to really, I think the Holy Spirit really spoke through you this morning.
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I'm assuming he hasn't left, so he's going to speak through you again. But we rejoice in a way at this time of the year that the rest of the world just does not understand, and they cannot understand.
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Going through the neighborhoods and seeing lights and everything, it's an uplifting feeling.
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But if that's as far as it goes, well, that's as far as it goes. You see, we who have bent the knee to the
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Lord and accepted him in faith, we have something, we have a real reason for being excited about this time of year.
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I'm going to open us up in Proverbs chapter 14, verse 26. In the fear of the
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Lord, one has strong confidence. I'm going to say that again.
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In the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence. There are so many things that we get to enjoy, and they're blessings from God.
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We get to spend time with family. Tomorrow morning, a lot of us are going to celebrate Christmas.
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We're going to hand out gifts and all this other kind of stuff. But if you really want to find strong confidence, make your heart turning into the fear of the
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Lord, and that means seeking after him. Scripture is going to teach us a lot of things. One of the things that it teaches us is that man by nature is in submission to the lies of Satan.
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That all started way back when in the garden. And because of that, we fall short because his lies fall short.
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The path that Satan wants to put you on does not satisfy. In fact, it leads to ruin.
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But Scripture also teaches us that although man fell in sin, this was not something that God was unaware of.
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In fact, before the founding of the world, he planned that his son would come.
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He planned that, can I give him a little spoiler? December 25th, we're celebrating
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Christmas. That's a spoiler. He planned that all the way, and he planned that as we accept his message and turn to him, our confidence would be true.
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Our confidence would be unshaken, and that we are restored in fellowship with the creator of the universe and our
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Lord and Savior. I just have a couple of announcements for you. We are completing our time of putting together our nominations as the congregation for the elder and for the deacons.
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Emails have gone out. You can complete your nominations online. If you haven't done that and you like paper, we do have paper.
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It's available in the foyer. So if you want, you can pick one of these up, perhaps not while Jeff is preaching, but maybe after.
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Should they stay for your sermon? Okay. You can fill this out and just turn it in. There's a box or you can do it online.
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You have the rest of the week to do that. Please take that seriously. The only other announcement I'm going to make is please come back and join with us at four o 'clock as we have our candlelight service celebrating the coming
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Messiah. Let's turn to prayer. Lord, we rejoice in your presence this morning.
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Today, as we anticipate celebrating the coming of your son, we acknowledge our need.
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We acknowledge your love. And we acknowledge the fulfillment of prophecy as the
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Messiah is born. The world is seeking to find fulfillment in things, yet our fulfillment is in you and our hope is in you.
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Be with us, we pray this morning. May our hearts be devoted to you. May your spirit guide us.
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May our lives be a testimony to those around us. Lord, we do continue to pray for those in need, those in times of grief.
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This holiday season, this Christmas season can be specifically difficult. We lift those around us and around the world.
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And we continue to specifically list your people, our brothers and sisters in Israel.
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Be with Pastor Jeff, we pray, as he brings your word, that your spirit speaks to him. Prepare our hearts to be opened, to hear and to respond in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Let's sing together. Joy to the world, the
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Savior's come. Let earth receive her
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King. Let every heart prepare
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Him room. And heaven and nature sing.
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And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing.
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Joy to the world, the Savior reigns.
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Let all their songs employ.
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While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains.
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Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy.
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Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
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Joy, unspeakable joy.
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An overflowing well. Joy, unspeakable joy.
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Rises in my soul. Never lets me go.
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He rules the world with truth and grace.
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And makes the nations prove.
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The glories of His righteousness.
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And wonders of His love. And wonders of His love.
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And wonders, wonders of His love.
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Joy, unspeakable joy.
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An overflowing well. No tongue can tell.
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Joy, unspeakable joy.
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Rises in my soul. Never lets me go.
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Amen. Amen. We are so thankful to be together in worshiping with Him at His throne.
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Let's sing together the First Noel. The First Noel the angels did say.
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Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.
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In fields where they lay keeping their sheep.
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On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
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Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel.
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Born is the King of Israel.
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They looked up and saw a star.
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Shining in the east beyond them far.
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And to the earth it gave great light.
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And so it continued both day and night.
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Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel.
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Born is the King of Israel.
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And by the light of that same star.
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Three wise men came from country far.
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To seek for a king was their intent.
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And follow the star wherever it went.
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Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel.
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Born is the King of Israel.
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Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel.
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Born is the King of Israel.
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Amen. Let's bow our heads and pray this morning. Lord, we are grateful and thankful that You are the
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King of kings and the Lord of lords. The King of heaven and of earth. Today we stand and worship
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You while our hearts and our heads are bowed before You. You are the
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King of kings. You are the Prince of peace. The wonderful Counselor and our
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Redeemer. We bring everything to You because You are due all the praise and all the worship this morning.
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O 'er the skies of Bethlehem appeared a star.
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While angels sang to lonely shepherds. Hope was a seeking truth traveled from afar.
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Falling on their knees they bowed before the humble
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Prince of peace. I bring an offering of worship to my
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King. No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing.
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Jesus, may You receive the honor that You're due.
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O Lord, I bring an offering to You. The sun cannot compare to the glory of Your love.
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There is no shadow in Your presence.
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No mortal man would dare to stand before Your throne.
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Before the Holy One of heaven.
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It's all by Your blood and it's only through Your mercy,
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Lord, I come. I bring an offering of worship to my
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King. No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing.
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Jesus, may You receive the honor that You're due.
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O Lord, I bring an offering to You. I bring an offering of worship to my
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King. No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing.
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Jesus, may You receive the honor that You're due.
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O Lord, I bring an offering to You. I bring an offering to You.
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Amen. You may be seated. Let's pray.
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Lord, we are so thankful for Christmas. We're so thankful,
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Father, that You sent Your only Son, born to the Virgin, laid in a manger, so humble and lowly, and yet the
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King of kings and Lord of lords. And now, Lord, as we open Your word, we pray that You would turn our hearts to make room for Jesus this
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Christmas. That we would not be distracted, that we would not miss the point,
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Lord, that all of our affection and all of our attention would be given to that prophet, priest, king, the
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Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. For Christmas morning,
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Christian families try to get everything in rightful place, don't we? We want everything perfect.
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You got to clean the house. You got to make everything look right. We like to put up lights. When my wife and I and our kids, we moved from Philadelphia, we were coming from a place that had only one tree on the entire city block where we lived.
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And so, moving to the suburbs, I didn't know how to decorate trees.
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And I was trying to make it look good, but what I did is I wrapped this tree in Christmas lights, and then I went up the branches, and then
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I climbed up the tree, and I'm throwing lights in every which way. And by the end of it, you could go out to the curb and look at it, and everybody would see something different.
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It no longer looked like a tree. It was like one of those Rorschach tests, you know, the inkblots, where you look at it and you can see like a dinosaur or like a bicycle or whatever.
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It was quite an adventure, but it wasn't really in place. And my wife was very gracious and patient with me, and then eventually we replaced that with things that are more in order, and it outlines the house, and it's right, it's in place.
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And she's very good with the ornaments on the tree. She's an expert. She has an ornament for everything commemorating our lives, from our wedding, the birth of the children, even children that we lost in miscarriage that are now in heaven, we have ornaments on the tree to remember them.
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We have a little church from 2016 when I became pastor here to remember that special moment as well.
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And so each ornament tells a story, and it's in its place on the tree, everything just right.
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I also like to keep Christmas paper wrap in its rightful place.
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I am one of those guys that when the kid opens the present, as soon as the paper hits the ground,
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I'm ready to pounce. And I just have to hold it. Is anybody here like that? You're just wanting to keep things in order, keep things clean, and as soon as the paper hits the ground, you want to grab it and stuff it in a trash bag.
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Now, the rightful place of that Christmas paper is strewn about on Christmas morning. You can just leave it there. You have permission.
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That's its rightful place. Now listen, just as clutter needs to go for Christmas, so the clutter around our hearts needs to be removed.
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If you're just organizing for Christmas and making everything right, but you're not getting your heart right before Jesus, it's like being on a cruise ship, and the ship is going down, and you're organizing the furniture on the deck of the cruise ship.
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You need to go get on a lifeboat, and that lifeboat, that rescue is Jesus himself.
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We need to get our hearts right and put our hearts in rightful place for Christmas.
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There was one husband and wife who said, Christmas has been very special in our lives, even during our earliest married years when we did not practice our faith.
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And that is the point. Even then, Christmas was magical and precious and an opportunity from God to turn back to him, which we eventually did.
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For this young couple, Christmas was something they just did outwardly, but eventually it became inward.
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Christmas, I think, providentially falls when the length of days has just reached the shortest, and now they start to get longer again.
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I track that, by the way. Is anybody else like me? You see that coming, and then you're just waiting for the longer days?
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I think God providentially designed for Christmas to be here as a fresh start, and then the new year comes around.
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It is a chance for us to return to our first love, to put Christ in the place where he belongs, his rightful place, enthroned as Lord over our lives.
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So Christmas is this adjustment for us. If everything else is in place, but Christ is off the throne of your heart, you've missed the point.
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Christmas reorients us and gets things in their rightful place. Today, we're going to read
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Luke 1, 26 -33. Luke 1, it's part of the
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Christmas story. I want us to focus on putting
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Christ in his rightful place. He is the prophet, the priest, the king. And where do kings belong but on a throne?
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The throne of our hearts. We need a little background before we come into the passage today.
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And that is a reminder that in Israel, there were three anointed offices.
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Prophet, priest, and king. Prophet, priest, king. All of them were anointed. They had a special role.
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The king was not the priest. They came from different tribes. And if a king tried to do priestly work, as Saul did, he would be rebuked.
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Prophet, priest, and king were separate offices. But what did all of the prophets, all of the priests, and all of the kings of Israel have in common?
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They all fell short of the glory of God. You see, the prophets, the priests, and the kings were themselves fallen sinners who existed in their role to point us to one greater than themselves.
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A true prophet who speaks not just for God but as God. A true priest who can actually atone for sin.
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A true king who rules not just in Jerusalem but over all the universe.
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You hear nowadays about aliens that people are seeing. Have you heard some of these news stories?
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Aliens everywhere. I think what people are most likely seeing there are just demons.
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Some demonic thing that people are mistaking as an alien. But I'll tell you this. If there is life on the most distant planet in the universe,
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Christ is king of kings and lord of lords over that planet too. He is the king.
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Not just in this time and place but over all time and space. So this is the role of the prophets, priests, and kings.
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It is to point us to a greater prophet. The prophet. A greater priest. A greater king.
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So let's read now Luke 1, 26 -33. In the sixth month, the angel
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Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was
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Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was
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Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, oh favored one. The Lord is with you.
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But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
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And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call his name
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Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the
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Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
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David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there will be no end.
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There are three ideas that I want us to take from the passage this morning.
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One is that there are prophets who go before Jesus, but Jesus is the greater prophet.
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Two, there are priests that mediate and angels also mediate, but Jesus is the great priest.
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And then lastly, he is the great king. All these others fall short of the glory of God, but they're pointing us to him.
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My desire as we hear the word today is that if anybody is here this morning who does not yet know the
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Lord, you will see in this text reason to believe, reason to bend your knee in allegiance to the
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King of Kings, that you will be a believer through the word of God. This word is perfect, cannot be broken.
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The scripture is complete, and we will see in the text such amazing detail to help us believe and to turn our hearts back to Jesus Christ.
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So first, the prophet John the Baptist has an essential place in Jesus's story.
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Have you ever noticed in the book of Luke that there is this interwoven story between John's birth and Jesus's birth?
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Luke goes back and forth, John's and then Jesus's, John's and then Jesus's, back and forth, they're intertwined because John the
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Baptist has an essential place in the story. I want to take a moment to look at John the
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Baptist and see how these are intertwined. Because notice in verse 26, how does that verse begin?
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In the sixth month. Sixth month from what? What's the starting point?
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Well, you need a little context. As you go back in Luke 1, it's the sixth month from when
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John the Baptist was conceived supernaturally because his mom was very elderly and passed childbearing years, and yet John was conceived.
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And this reference to the sixth month means it's been six months since that event.
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Very important. A whole sermon could be preached off to the side right here to say that by marking time from conception, not from birth, we have evidence that life begins at conception.
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This is how it's marked. And in verse 44, we see Jesus in the womb of Mary, and you have
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John the Baptist in Elizabeth's womb. And when they come into the same room and Mary speaks, what does
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John the Baptist do from the womb? He rejoices. This is a living human being from conception.
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There was a politician who was asked in a debate, when does life begin? And he deferred and said, that's above my pay grade.
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It's not above God's pay grade. When God speaks, we can trust every word that he says.
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Life begins at conception. It is the sixth month from conception at this point.
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Now, I want to just point out something because many of us have heard those who oppose the
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Christian message. They will say Christianity just adopted pagan ideas and the rituals of Christianity, especially around Christmas, are nothing but pagan in origin.
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They'll say there's no Christian reason to believe in December 25th as the time of Christmas.
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Well, notice something. We are told in verse 26 that it's the sixth month from conception.
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At what point in time did Zechariah receive the vision from the angel? It was during a high holy day.
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Most likely as the early church had thought, it was during the festival of booths or perhaps
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Yom Kippur, the main day of atonement, right? This was the starting point.
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If you were to look, you can Google it later. When was Yom Kippur in 2023, this year?
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It fell on September 25th, September 25th. And that's very often the case that this high holy day when the incense is offered will be in the end of September or early
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October. Now, if you take six months from September 25th, you arrive
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October, November, December, January, February, March 25th.
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And if Jesus is conceived here six months after John the Baptist, go from March 25th, how long does a pregnancy take?
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Nine months, March 25th, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December 25th.
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Do you see why the early church chose December 25th? It had nothing to do with paganism. In fact, they'll say, very often they'll say, the pagan holiday of Saturnalia fell near the winter solstice and Christians have adopted that tradition.
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Saturnalia was December 6th. So people will repeat this kind of nonsense thinking that they have reason to oppose
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Christianity. But in fact, and in truth, every detail of God's design was prophetically foretold ahead of time so that we would know the truth.
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And never do we see that more clearly than here in the sixth month. Because what God is showing us by this is that there is a forerunner whose name is
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John the Baptist and his story is intertwined with the story of Jesus Christ.
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Turn back with me to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah is one of the prophets and all of the prophets give testimony to Jesus Christ.
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The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ. These prophets speak for God but they themselves fall short.
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John the Baptist, although the greatest among men according to Jesus in Matthew 11, even he had a moment of doubt where he sent to ask, is
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Jesus really the Messiah? He was a prophet but he fell short. Likewise, all of the prophets fall short of the glory of God.
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They're pointing to one greater than themselves. Amos will say, listen, Amos 8 .11,
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a time is coming when God will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of hunger for food or thirst for water but a famine of hearing the word of the
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Lord. There is coming a period of time where there are no prophets.
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A famine of prophecy. It turns out that Amos' prophecy of a coming famine of prophecy actually occurred in time.
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The book of Malachi ends the Old Testament and after Malachi, there are what is called the 400 silent years.
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400 years without a prophet. Interestingly, the last prophecy in the
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Old Testament foretells one like Elijah who will turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children lest when
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Messiah comes, he strikes the earth in utter destruction. So after this 400 years of silence, there will be again another prophet.
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If he doesn't come and make things straight, then when Messiah comes, everybody's going to get wiped out.
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But God will send an Elijah and Jesus will say, if you can accept it, that Elijah is none other than John the
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Baptist. So now look at Isaiah chapter 40. With that in mind, knowing that there will be a period of famine of prophecy, now
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Isaiah foresees the future. Isaiah 41 and following. Comfort.
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Comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, the forgiveness of sin in Jesus, that she has received from the
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Lord's hand double for all her sins. That time of judgment is coming to an end.
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It's enough. But look at this. Verse three. A voice cries in the wilderness.
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Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our
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God. Every valley shall be lifted up. Every mountain and hill shall be made low.
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The uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain.
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There will come a prophet in the wilderness. His name is John the Baptist. He will be wearing camel's hair and eating locusts and honey, living in the wilderness and declaring repentance to Israel.
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Come, make the way of the Lord. Make a highway for the Lord. Even the last prophet to prophecy
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Christ was himself prophesied. Isaiah foretells the coming of a final announcer, the last
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Old Testament prophet. John the Baptist will make the way of the Lord straight for him.
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Verse five. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. This is Christ, the Shekinah glory.
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He is the glory of God. Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, dwelling among us.
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And all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Church, Isaiah will go on to say, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the
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Lord stands forever. When God says, thus says the Lord, it will come to pass.
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The 400 silent years that Amos prophesied will happen. And then
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God in his time has in place, like a bun in the oven for six months already cooking, right there in place, the forerunner, the announcer of Isaiah 40, of Malachi 3, 1 to 5, of Malachi 4, 5 and 6.
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The prophet was himself prophesied. Don't miss this because go back now to Luke chapter one, verse 26.
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The story of Jesus is interwoven with the story of John, that there would be two witnesses in John chapter four.
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Jesus will declare himself to be the Messiah, but he also appeals to the testimony of John the
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Baptist. This is how we know that Jesus really is who he claimed to be because his story is prophetic and everything foretold of him comes to pass.
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John the Baptist is at the ready. So John the Baptist is a prophet and what do they do to prophets?
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They kill the prophets. They stone those who God has sent to them. Isaiah himself will be sawn in two.
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John the Baptist will be beheaded. Here in the Luke story, we have the birth narrative of the joy that this child born to Elizabeth in her old age, removing her reproach, that she felt ashamed.
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Now she'll have a son and she's delighting. She in her old age will not live to see the beheading of John the
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Baptist, but Mary will and so many godly mothers in Jerusalem will grieve the murder of John the
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Baptist and the great and greater prophet was foretold by Moses, Deuteronomy 18, 15, greater than Moses, there's coming the prophet, the one who speaks as God and they will kill him too.
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Give him myrrh. Myrrh is for burial as we learn from the gospel of John.
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It is one of the spices that they would use to cover the body of those who were killed for Jewish burial.
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When Jesus in his birth was given gold, frankincense and myrrh, the myrrh represents him as a prophet rejected and buried.
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The incense represents him as a priest to which will now turn and the gold represents him as a king.
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So let's look now at the second point. Jesus is the greater prophet. He is also the greater priest.
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I love the humanness of Mary in these verses. In verse 28, he came to her, that's
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Gabriel, this glowing majestic angel comes and says, greetings.
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How would you react? Oh, favored one. Now that's good. He's saying you're favored.
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The Lord is with you. But notice verse 29, but she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
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Do you see her humanness? Her fallenness even. In the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, Eve would have no fear of an angel.
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The fear comes from the fall. We're all fallen in Adam and in Eve and therefore as sinners, we fear even the righteous angel.
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But my point here that I want you to understand is that there's only so much that the angel can do for her.
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He comforts her. Look what he says in verse 30. The angel said to her, do not be afraid
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Mary for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name
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Jesus. There is only so much the angel can do for her. He can comfort her and surely
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God sent her a sense of peace to calm her when the angel said that. But the angel cannot remove her sin or ours.
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There's only so much the angel can do. The angel cannot bring sinful people like us to God.
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For that, we need a priest. And notice what it says in verse 31. Behold, you will conceive in your womb.
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There must be a human born of woman, born under the law.
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An angel cannot bring us to God. He cannot mediate. For this, we need a priest because only one who is truly human can represent us and be substituted for us as a sacrifice on our behalf.
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He must be fully human. Look at the next verse, 32. He also must be
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God, the Son of the Most High. He will be great and will be called the
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Son of the Most High. He must be human and he must be divine. Son of man,
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Son of God. To bridge this gap, the angel can't do it. Zechariah was a priest, but in his fallenness as a
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Levite, when he heard the good news, what did he do? He doubted the angel and the angel struck his mouth.
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He was mute for nine months. The Levitical priest couldn't do it.
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They couldn't remove sin. They could offer animal sacrifices, but they couldn't take away human sin.
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We needed a priest. In the book of Hebrews, we learn that this is precisely what
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Jesus is. Hebrews 2 .16, for surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
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That is, those who have faith like Abraham are helped, not by an angel, but by one of our own.
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Hebrews 4 .15, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.
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Picture weak Mary there in her fear, trembling before the angel. The angel cannot do much for her.
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She needs one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
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She needs a priest. In fact, Peter will tell us that angels like Gabriel, they long to look into this mystery, that God would take on flesh, be born to a virgin, and dwell among us as a man, a human.
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He did not become an angel to save angels, and the angels just marvel at this.
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This baby born in Bethlehem was truly human, born to the
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Virgin Mary. And he came to do this to bring sinful men like us to God.
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He's the priest. Every other priest fell short of the glory of God.
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He is the glory of God. He is that priest. Now, we don't have time to go down this rabbit trail, but I'll point you to it.
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Zechariah was a priest from the tribe of Levi. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah.
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Priests are to come from Levi. So how can he even be a priest? The author to the
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Hebrews tells us the answer to that in Hebrews chapter 7. So I commend a study to you.
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There are only three passages that really refer to this. Genesis 14, Psalm 110 at the middle of the
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Bible, and then Hebrews 7. It shows that Jesus actually is a priest from a different order, a higher order than the
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Levitical priesthood but he is what is called the priest according to the order of Melchizedek, the righteous king.
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So he is both king and priest of the most high God. Jesus is that priest.
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But this brings us now to the final point. Jesus is not only the prophet that you must listen to, the priest that brings you to God, he is the king of kings.
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He is the king. And every other king who ever lived from Saul who lost the throne to David on down, each of them fell short of the glory of God.
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But Jesus is that righteous king, that perfect king to whom every other king pointed.
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In fact, he's more than an earthly king. He's a heavenly king. He will sit on David's throne here in glory.
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But even now he is at the right hand of the father. C .S. Lewis is eminently quotable.
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Tremendous author in terms of literary talent. He put it this way. Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.
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Here is a king laid in a manger that as he lay there is governing the entire universe.
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Never cease being God. Although flesh was added to him, he is the king that Jerusalem waited on.
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He is in fact the king of the whole world and of the whole universe of heaven as well as earth.
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Turn with me for the earthly line of the king to a very important passage.
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2 Samuel 7. All Christians should know this passage because it is the
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Davidic covenant. 2 Samuel 7, 12 -16, and then we'll come back and finish up.
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I deliberately don't mark the pages so I have to find it too. Give you time to find it.
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2 Samuel 7, 12 -14.
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We'll actually go on to 16. David has desired here to build the temple and Nathan the prophet will come and give him this word from God.
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When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,
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I will raise up your offspring after you. Notice this. Most important part of my message here.
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Who shall come from your body. Do you see that? An offspring for David that shall come from David's body and I will establish his kingdom.
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There's some commentary in verses 13 and following about Solomon needing rebuke, but then it continues on in verse 16 and your house, listen, and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.
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Your throne shall be established, how long? Forever. Now King Saul was the predecessor of David, but because he was rejected, his line no longer brought forth kings.
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Instead, God put a man after his own heart, David on the throne. The promise is the coming king whose reign will be forever must come from David's own body.
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Now we know from the spiritual side that Jesus has always been the son of God. Psalm 110 verse 1.
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The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
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So the Lord said to David's Lord, David's Lord is
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Jesus. The father said to Jesus. So Jesus is both David's Lord and back to our text, his descendant from his own body.
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The king must come from David's own body.
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Now Matthew will trace the lineage of Jesus from Abraham 14 generations,
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David 14 generations, Jesus. Have you ever noticed in that line of kings?
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The name Jeconiah just before the exile into Babylon.
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The name Jeconiah appears in Matthew's genealogy, but I want to tell you just how precise and reliable is the word of God so that you can trust that Jesus really is king of kings and Lord of lords.
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Jeremiah the prophet said this about Jeconiah. Jeremiah 22, 28 to 30.
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You can look it up later. He says of Jeconiah. In fact, he calls him
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Coniah. It's like a shortening nickname. You can call him Coney if you want. Jeconiah the king,
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Coniah is told in Jeremiah 22, 30 that you shall be considered as if childless.
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None of your offspring will hold that scepter. None of your offspring will be the king.
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You see a problem? Matthew's recounting Jeconiah in the lineage of Jesus, but there was a prophecy in Jeremiah chapter 22 verse 30 that Jeconiah cannot be in the
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Messiah's train in that line. And so you say, wait a minute. Is there error in this
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Bible? Is this Bible less than perfect? How is Jeconiah in the genealogy? You want me to tell you or just leave you hanging?
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It is because Luke chapter 3, especially in verse 31 tells us the genealogy of Jesus through Mary.
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And that genealogy goes from David to Nathan, not to Solomon.
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What we have in Matthew's genealogy is the legal right passed through the father, but not the biological line.
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God saw fit to show that Joseph, as was supposed to be the biological father, he was not the biological father.
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That's the point. When Jeremiah 22 30 says it can't come through the line of Jeconiah biologically.
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The answer is it didn't. Jesus is not the biological son of Joseph.
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Jesus is the biological son of Mary. That's the line that it passed through.
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Isn't that interesting? And so Jeremiah 22 30 is actually true. Absolutely true.
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And we have recorded two genealogies, one through Mary and the other through Joseph.
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What's even more significant to that is that the reason why these genealogies, how many of you study genealogies?
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Maybe some of you do. You know how the Mormons have made that they like to baptize for the dead. They have made ancestry .com
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and people can go and research who comes from who and they like to follow the genealogy.
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Nothing wrong with doing that. You can look into the past, but I'll tell you what ancestry .com
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cannot tell you and what no person who rejects the Messiah ship of Jesus can tell you is the line from David to anybody living today.
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Because in 70 AD, the genealogy, the records that were kept in the temple were destroyed by fire.
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And before those records were destroyed, God saw fit to inspire Matthew before 70
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AD to take those records and write down the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph.
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And he inspired Luke to take those genealogies and write down and show that Jesus comes from David's own body.
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And then it was almost like God just providentially said, now that we have this recorded, I'm going to destroy all of the genealogical records in the temple so that if any other pretender would come and claim to be the
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Messiah, they have nothing to draw upon to prove their case. I love this because God is so meticulous in how he brings his
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Messiah into the world. He gives the family tree, the descent of Jesus in order to show that he is who he claimed to be.
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And so we conclude. Luke chapter one, verses 32 and 33.
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He will be great.
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He is the great king. All other kings, the good ones like Josiah and David, they still fall short of the glory of God.
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He will be great. And how great? He will be called the son of the most high.
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And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father,
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David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob. How long? Forever.
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No end in time to his reign. And of his kingdom, there will be no end in terms of territory or time.
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This is the king of kings overall. And so in conclusion, from this text today, we see a prophet who speaks as God.
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Every other prophet was prone to err as we are, prone to stumble.
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But this prophet spoke perfectly. Every word he ever said. We have a priest who is actually able to do something about our sin.
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An angel couldn't do it. And you can't do anything about your own sin. But here we have a priest who took his own body, sinless as he was, and laid down on the cross and spilling his blood, being lifted up on the cross, dismissing his spirit, breathing his last.
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He dies the death that we deserve. He's the sacrifice as well as the priest.
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He's the lamb of God. The priest brings his own body as a sacrifice. And so how much greater is he than any other priest who went before, offering only the blood of lambs and goats?
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He is the king. Every other king, even David, fell into adultery and murdered his own friend,
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Uriah. But here is a king who bows down and washes the feet of his subjects.
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The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
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Here is a king that is infinitely worthy of our worship and devotion.
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So this Christmas, the point is to welcome the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the son of the
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Most High. As I was reading these words and just preparing for the sermon, I wanted my heart to be set right.
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Preachers can get distracted too, right? And get caught up in all the difficulty of getting ready for Christmas.
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And I said, Lord, help me not to miss Christmas. And so as I began to pray, I began to write.
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And there came from that a poem, just eight stanzas long that I'd like to close my sermon with.
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And to do so as an encouragement to you to do something similar. Maybe you don't like writing poetry.
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Maybe that's just me. But you can write in a journal. You can take a little time alone to get your heart right before Christmas.
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And the key to that is to bow the knee, bend the knee, and bow your heart before him as Lord to accept the gift that he offers.
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Let me read this in closing. I called it, In Rightful Place. The prophets did their myrrh receive to be buried while the mothers grieve.
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Yet light they saw in the dark and bleak the prophet of whom all prophets speak.
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The priests did make their incense rise, but to human need offered no replies except to point to a woman's seed, the priest who meets all human need.
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The kings did wear a crown of gold, passed it down as they grew old, then returned themselves to rightful place before the king who rules all time and space.
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The prophet, priest, and king are one. Word made flesh,
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God's own son. So give him myrrh, frankincense, and gold. Would you come into the shepherd's fold?
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This prophet warns of sin to flee. This king approached with bended knee.
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This priest atoned with blood his own. To you this day his love is shown.
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Our rightful place is bowing down before the one who wears the crown.
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What king is this who drinks the cup? What prophet, priest, who lifts us up? His rightful place is to be adored.
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Our lives laid down as his reward. His rightful place is lifted high above the earth, above the sky.
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He took his place, for he is risen. Now we're not dead, we are forgiven.
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In rightful place we shout his fame. Jesus, name above every name.
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Let's pray. Father God, we thank you so much that you would see fit to send the prophet, the priest, the king, the son of man, the son of God into the world.
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And so right now, Lord, I pray for all those listening to this sermon that they too would bow the knee to bring their allegiance to accept the free gift of salvation.
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Bring them into the fold, we pray, Lord God. Help them to confess their sins and to turn from sin, to believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead.
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Father, I pray for those who maybe have not yet been saved, that right now they would bow their hearts before the king of kings.
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And for all of us who have been distracted, our lives have gotten cluttered, we're worried about many things.
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We pray that this Christmas our hearts would be put in rightful place.
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Humble us before your glory. We give you our lives again.
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We return to our first love. Father, we thank you for giving us your son, in whose name we pray, amen.
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How long expected
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Jesus Born to set thy people free
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From our fears and sins Release us, let us find
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Our rest in him Israel's strength and consolation
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Hope of all the earth, thou art
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Dear desire of every nation
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Joy of every longing heart
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Born thy people to deliver
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Born a child and yet a king
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Born to reign in us forever
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Now thy gracious kingdom bring
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Now thine own eternal spirit rule
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In all our hearts of gold By thine own sufficient merit
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Raise us to thy glorious throne
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Please come back for the candlelight service at 4 o 'clock if you're able.
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Let us close with one verse, the words of Mary, ringing in our hearts.
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And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my
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Savior. Go in peace. These are pretty heavy, aren't they?
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When they see in their king
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Nature's king, and heaven and nature's king Nature's king, nature's king
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And heaven and nature's king And nature's king
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He rules the nations through And wonders of His love
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And wonders of His love And wonders, and wonders of His love